


Barely Functional

by aleanmeanaquamarine



Category: Naruto
Genre: Crying, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 as Family (Naruto), Family, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, Sleepy Cuddles, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21529330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aleanmeanaquamarine/pseuds/aleanmeanaquamarine
Summary: Kakashi didn’t think he’d done that bad of a job. Sasuke seemed to get the message, even looked remorseful. And then his tiny student let out a sniffle, and oh.Oh no.Kakashi wasnotequipped to deal with crying children.If the tree scene had gone a little different.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 23
Kudos: 545





	Barely Functional

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! this has been in the works for a bit, glad i got it done. if you're also reading "courthouse: a group chat fic" i swear an update will be up in the next few days, and if it isn't, feel free to yell at me!
> 
> anyways, take some fluff

Kakashi didn’t think he’d done that bad of a job. Sasuke seemed to get the message, even looked remorseful. And then his tiny student let out a sniffle, and oh. 

Oh no. 

Kakashi was _not_ equipped to deal with crying children. 

Listen, when he tied his genin to a tree to deliver a lecture, he wasn’t expecting tears. (Maybe that was a stupid idea.) Of course he’d had experience with comforting people- he was a _shinobi_ , his friends had mental breakdowns on the regular, but kids, they were different. Fragile. Kakashi didn’t do well with things he could fuck up.

Sasuke was curled up, pressing his back to the trunk, and Kakashi’s heart was breaking. It was cracking in places he thought he’d hardened, resplitting along paths he’d tried his best to cover. God, he wanted to scoop up his adorable little genin, wrap him up in blankets- _Shinobi must never show any weakness_ \- but tiny flickers of _youdon’tdeservethisyou’rea **soldier**_ stopped him cold. Despite that, Kakashi had to do something, anything- after all, those who break the rules of the ninja world are scum, but those who abandon their loved ones are worse than scum. 

Kakashi found himself kneeling in front of Sasuke, taking his hand. The warmth of Sasuke’s palm against his was foreign, strange even, but it wasn’t too bad. Kakashi could get used to this. 

He shook himself, remembering what he needed to be doing right then. Kakashi flashed through a couple of hand signs, _shunshin_ ing the two of them back to his apartment. It was surprisingly homey, (thanks, of course, to Iruka,) and a whole lot better than the forest outside the hospital. Kakashi sat Sasuke down on his couch and stood up, releasing him to go make some tea, maybe call Iruka, god, he wasn’t ready for this, who decided he should have to deal with emotions-

A hand wrapped itself around his arm, stopping him in his tracks. Kakashi looked down at Sasuke. Sasuke was biting his lip, unable to meet Kakashi’s eye. 

“Please don’t leave.” The whisper was hard to hear, a fresh wave of tears welling up in Sasuke’s eyes, but the worst thing was the _fear_ that highlighted his features. Kakashi’s chest twinged, and he sat down on the couch, tucking Sasuke’s head underneath his chin. “Please, please don’t go, ’m sorry, sensei, I- please don’t leave-” And _oh_ , were those words familiar- Kakashi still remembered the way they’d tumbled out of his mouth into Minato-sensei’s arms. It didn’t seem like that long ago, yet here he was. The irony. 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, I’m not leaving,” Kakashi mumbled into Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Kakashi, squeezing so hard Kakashi thought he might pass out. “I have you, it’s okay, you’re okay. You’re safe.” Sasuke was almost in his lap now. Kakashi wanted to take him far, far away, away from any of this suffering and _hurt_ , but god knew it was too late for that. Sasuke fisted his hands in Kakashi’s shirt. 

“’m sorry, ’m sorry, I can’t- I-” Sasuke choked on his words. Kakashi didn’t say anything for a bit, just combing his fingers through Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke curled into his hand. “Couldn’t beat ‘m, couldn’t- not- not good enough, ‘m sorry, still so _weak_ -” He broke off into hiccups. 

“Sasuke.” Kakashi’s voice was soft, gently rubbing Sasuke’s back. The kid in his arms- _god, still only 12_ \- wiped his tears away, looking up at Kakashi. “Listen. Your brother, Itachi. He was able to take out three- look at me- _three_ jonin, and damn good ones at that. I should know, I was one of them.” That earned a watery laugh from Sasuke. Kakashi ruffled his hair, squeezing him a little bit. “You’re only a genin-” Sasuke made a noise of protest, “a skilled, talented, amazing genin, but still a genin. You don’t have to deal with all this yourself.” Sasuke buried his face back into Kakashi’s chest, just shrugging. For a second, a peaceful silence blanketed them. A yawn escaped Sasuke, who immediately flushed a crimson red. Kakashi smiled at him. “It’s past your bedtime, isn’t it?” Sasuke huffed. 

“Don’t _have_ a bedtime. Not- not-” Another yawn interrupted him, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

“Were you about to say ‘tired’?” Sasuke pouted, letting out an undignified squeak as Kakashi stood up, Sasuke in his arms. Kakashi chuckled. _He can’t go home like this- especially not to the Uchiha district._ “Let’s get ready for bed, hm?” Sasuke protested weakly that _I can leave, you don’t have to let me stay, I’ll sleep better in my own house, anyways,_ but for such an unwilling passenger, he gave in quickly. 

And that was how they ended up in the bathroom, both dressed in sleep-clothes, Kakashi wiping the tear tracks off Sasuke’s face. Sasuke was still sulking, but let his mother-hen of a sensei (honestly, the legendary copy-nin was _such_ a softie around children) do what he wanted.

It'd probably been a while since someone had treated him like a _kid_ , not the last Uchiha, not a pity case, not some sign of bad omens. That realization hurt. (Kakashi made sure he was extra gentle, to make up for all the years nobody was.) He was holding Sasuke's cheek, peering at the smudges and small cuts and bruises from training, tutting at the bigger ones. He ruffled Sasuke's hair and smiled softly, eye curving up. Sasuke's eyelids were drooping shut, the exhaustion of the day catching up to him. Kakashi had forgotten that he just got out of the hospital.

Ah, well. He was Hatake Kakashi, hated by hospitals and doctors everywhere- it was only natural that his genin would start to pick up his habits.

He _definitely_ had to fix their disregard for proper medical assistance, but for now, there was an adorable little child falling asleep in front of him, and of course, his kids took priority, always would. When he picked Sasuke up again, he didn't even protest, even snuggling closer to Kakashi's chest. His heart might have melted a little.

Kakashi reached the bed, trying (and failing) to tuck Sasuke in. His genin clung onto his arms, refusing to let go. _Maa, what the tiny bastard wants, the tiny bastard gets._ Kakashi sighed. He pulled open the covers, climbing onto the mattress. Sasuke relaxed, pulling Kakashi closer in his sleep-hazy daze. Kakashi chuckled quietly. _He's so much cuter when he's tired._ Sasuke grumbled at the sound, his body relaxing into the warm sense of safety. Kakashi laid a hand on top of Sasuke's head before wrapping an arm around his back.

When soft snores broke the silence from next to him, Kakashi thought that maybe the Third Hokage was right to stick him with a genin team- that maybe.

Maybe he was more equipped to handle things than he thought.


End file.
